


Merlin's Perfume Shop

by magikayleigh



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, Slash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-24
Updated: 2015-02-24
Packaged: 2018-03-14 21:45:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3426653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magikayleigh/pseuds/magikayleigh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur's on a hunt to find the perfect present for Morgana. When he goes into a small store on the corner of the street, he meets Merlin. Merlin creates the most ethereal perfumes, and Arthur becomes instantly smitten.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Merlin's Perfume Shop

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came to me after reading 'The Hollow' by Jessica Verday. When the main character, Abbey, leaves school she wants to open up her own perfume store. And then I thought: ''OH MY GOSH. IMAGINE MERLIN OWNING A PERFUME STORE. OH MY GOSH.'' because that's just how my brain works.  
> I do not own Merlin. The BBC does, so yeah. I make 0 money, and this is all for funsies.
> 
> Merlin's bike was based on this: https://www.etsy.com/listing/174831749/heritage-bicycles-jane?ref=favs_view_20  
> Morgana's necklace was based on this: https://www.etsy.com/listing/109831449/perfume-bottle-heart-necklace-the-queen?ref=shop_home_active_14

Arthur, to his despair, was out shopping. Morgana's birthday was approaching fast and if he wanted to get into her good book, he knew the present had to be good.

The problem was that Morgana was difficult to buy for. She was into really weird stuff like antiques, ornaments, and wicca. So here Arthur was, walking briskly through the weirder side of town in his warmest coat because even though it was only the beginning of Autumn, it was freezing. The air so crisp and cold that it made Arthur's cheeks pink.

Turning a corner, Arthur almost bumps straight into a bike. He scolds. The bike was padlocked to a lamp post, blocking most of the pavement. It was black and old fashioned, with a brown basket at the front. He looked at the store it was in front of. The shop looked like somewhere Morgana would go, and Arthur thought he might be able to find something for her in there, so he took a deep breath and went inside.

**

Upon hearing the bell sound, Merlin looked up from his book and saw a guy standing in the doorway. He was roughly about the same age as Merlin (nineteen), and his cheeks were all flushed from the cold.

He looked like some sort of rich footballer, Merlin thought to himself. Blonde, tanned, with sky blue eyes that Merlin wanted to drown in. A shiver crept down his spine at the pure attractiveness of the stranger.

**

''Hello. Welcome to Merlin's. Anything I can help you with?''  
Arthur turned to the guy at the counter. He stared for longer than was probably appropriate. The guy was... striking. All long limbs, pale skin, and black hair which seemed to make the deep blue of his eyes stand out incredibly.  
''Uh, yes. I'm looking for a present for my sister... She's a bit...'' Arthur searched for the right word, ''eccentric?''  
The guy laughed at that. A laugh that made his Adam's apple bob up and down deliciously.  
''Well then, I think you've come to the right place.'' He said, grinning. A huge, toothy grin that left Arthur feeling warm suddenly.

Reluctantly, Arthur looked away from him, and around the shop instead. Everything was wooden and old. Rich dark wooden shelves, the colour of chocolate, were against every wall. Each shelf held small glass vials of liquid. Perfume. The perfume shop also had a huge display window which allowed the sun to glow through gloriously. Arthur stepped closer to get a better look at what was on display.

In the middle of the display window, five medium sized perfume vials were displayed. The vials themselves looked old, almost creepy, like small potions. Elixirs. Above the vials was an old book. The title of the book read ''The Legend of Sleepy Hollow''. Looking again closer, Arthur realized that each perfume was made with a character from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in mind. Neat.

''Tell me about your sister?''  
Arthur's eyes drifted to the boy, ''Excuse me?''  
''So I can create her perfume?'' The shop worker said, eyebrows lifted.  
''You can make a perfume based on a description of someone?''  
''Yeah, it's hard sometimes, but if you give me enough details about her then I'm sure I could make something she likes.'' He flashed Arthur another wide grin.  
''I'm Arthur.'' He found himself saying.  
''Merlin.''  
Merlin. MerlinMerlinMerlin. Merlin's perfume shop. He said the name over and over in his head, not cheating himself out of a single syllable.  
''Okay,'' Arthur sighed, trying to figure out a way to describe his sister, ''Her name is Morgana Pendragon. She's somewhat gothic and she's Wiccan? Or... whatever. She likes to piss off our dad. She usually uses her beauty to manipulate other people. She always has an evil smirk on her face and she does this creepy thing where she looks at you with her eyes and it feels like she's reading your mind. She also has her coffee black, probably to match her heart. She's older than me. Um, she mostly listens to meditation music. She's a radical feminist. I don't know. She'd probably be in Slytherin house.'' Arthur stopped, breathing deeply. Wow, Merlin must think him a right idiot. He'd spoken too fast. He sounded too uncharacteristically anxious.

**

Merlin had taken down a few notes about Arthur's sister on his pad. It was hard to concentrate when Arthur's voice was low and breathless, fast and filling the room. Not to mention the fact that Arthur had let slip that he knew too much about the Harry Potter series for any non-geek. For a moment Merlin thought how well Morgana would fit in if she worked here.  
''Okay, I think I could whip something up with this.'' Merlin said, trying not to sound like he was affected at all by Arthur's voice.

**

It had been almost an hour since Merlin went into the back of the shop. Arthur could hear him making noises of agreement to himself occasionally. Smells both musky and earthy, deep and seductive drifted into the shop.  
''Arthur?''  
Arthur turned around to see Merlin leaning against the back room door. His hair was messier but he looked proud.  
''Ah, Merlin.'' Arthur responded, mimicking the voice he mostly used for business so not to hint in anyway to Merlin, who was most likely straight, that he was interested in him. Merlin didn't seem to notice though, and smiled softly. He held up a medium sized vial.  
''Wan'a smell?'' Merlin asked, head cocked to the side. Arthur walked over and took the bottle from Merlin, turning the lid until it was completely off. He placed it under his nose to sniff.

For a second Arthur was completely in awe, he had involuntarily shut his eyes, and he was sure he made some ridiculous humming sound, but it was perfect. It was Morgana.  
''Merlin...''  
Merlin shifted shyly.  
''It's perfect. Exactly like her.'' Arthur says, a grin on his face. Morgana was going to love him so much.  
''Really? Because I was thinking that I could add mor--''  
''No. Merlin, it's perfect.''  
''Okay. How would you like it?''  
Arthur blushed, ''Pardon?''  
''In a vial, as a solid perfume, a lip gloss, a necklace vial...''  
Arthur thought for a second. ''Morgana would probably like the necklace.''  
Merlin nodded, and went back into the back room. When he came out twenty minutes later, he held a small box in his hand. Merlin handed it over to Arthur.

The box was a dark brown colour with light brown writing on the lid.  
'Morgana Pendragon' it read at the bottom of the box in bolded gothic font. Above it in smaller writing was:  
'There is no evil in sorcery, only in the hearts of men.' Perfect.  
Carefully, Arthur lifted the lid off of the box, and stared at the necklace inside. The chain was gold, with small gems occasionally interrupting the links. The vial/pendent itself was heart shaped, flowers carved into the glass, the liquid Arthur had smelt before was now poured carefully inside the heart. Arthur gasped a little upon seeing it.  
''Holy shit. Merlin.'' Was all Arthur could say, too taken back by the ethereal necklace in his hands.

**

After a while, Arthur was ready to pay for his sister's present. But Merlin felt nervous thinking about what Arthur would say when Merlin tells him the price. Usually, customers should shout abuse and leave, refusing to pay anything.  
''It's, um, the cost...'' Merlin started, ''£94.''  
Arthur said nothing. He didn't even look shocked. He handed over two £50 notes and told Merlin to keep the change.

**

Arthur felt silly for asking but he had to. He didn't know why but he needed one of Merlin's perfumes for himself. He needed Merlin to create something like this for him.  
''Merlin...'' He began in his business voice, ''I would much like one of these for myself... Is there any chance you could make one for me?''  
Arthur forced himself to look at Merlin. Merlin was grinning, his ebullience contagious.  
''Of course, Arthur!''  
Arthur felt his stomach flip when Merlin said his name.  
''Great. I'll be down on Friday to pick it up and pay. What time do you open?''  
''9:00 AM'' Merlin beamed.  
''See you Friday, Merlin. And thank you. Morgana will love it.''


End file.
